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Reem Al-Shemariand the Abu Dhabi Brand

Generation Y

leadership in the UAE

02/2010-5671

This case was written by atty !ar"eno#t and $ola Tassabeh%i& #nder the s#per'ision o( !an(red etsde )ries& $ao#l de )itry d*A'a#co#rt +linical ,ro(essor o( eadership .e'elop"ent and .irector& EA.Global eadership +entre& and Eliabeth 3lorent-Treacy& G+ $esearch ,ro4ra""e .irector t is intendedto be #sed as a basis (or class disc#ssion rather than to ill#strate either e((ecti'e or ine((ecti'e handlin4 o(

an ad"inistrati'e sit#ationThis case was de'eloped with the (inancial contrib#tion o( the Ab# .habi Ed#cation +o#ncil& whose s#pportis 4rate(#lly acnowled4ed

+opyri4ht 2010EA.

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-o tae /art in a brandin) worsho/ led by 0er 2cellency Reem Al Shemari, 3eneral4ana)er of the 5ffice of the 6rand of Abu Dhabi, where she /resents the Abu Dhabi brand toher mirati com/atriots and *isitors from around the world, is to undertae a fascinatin)

ourney of disco*ery that /roects a multi8layered ima)e of mirati society and its youn) anddynamic leadershi/.

5n sta)e stands a woman who wears her abaya as an indication of her /ride in her miratiherita)e. Althou)h the United Arab mirates &UA( do not re9uire women to wear traditionaldress, many mirati women lie Reem enoy both the tradition and the fashion /ossibilitiesoffered by the abaya, which is a li)ht, sily, blac full8len)th )arment often decorated withembroidery and )litter.

:elcomin) you in /erfect n)lish or Arabic is a /assionate and self8confident Abu Dhabi8raised 4uslim woman who holds a to/ leadershi/ /osition in one of the most ra/idly

de*elo/in) cities in the world. U/on meetin) the youn)est head of any Abu Dhabi)o*ernment a)ency, )ranted the honorific title of ;2cellency< at the a)e of !$, you may wellwonder = /erha/s with a hint of en*y = what /ut Reem on such a fast8trac career /ath.

-here are a number of reasons for Reem>s arri*al at the forefront of the leadershi/ scene inAbu Dhabi. Amon) the most si)nificant are her earliest role models? a worin) mother and afather who su//orted her desire for inde/endence and a leadershi/ role in her community@

/rominent male mentors in her /rofessional life who su//orted and challen)ed her@ and abo*eall a conte2t of ra/id urban de*elo/ment and societal chan)e that has created newo//ortunities for youn) women beyond the traditional roles that their mothers /layed. Assuch, Reem re/resents a youn) )eneration of miratis attem/tin) to come to terms with their

multi/le identities while sha/in) an emirate which in turn is seein) a /lace on the )lobalsta)e and an identity for itself.

-o witness the achie*ement and the /assion of Reem while describin) the transformationalourney of the Abu Dhabi brand not only introduces you to the mirate>s /ast and /resent butalso hints at the challen)es ahead, both for herself and a )eneration of youn) miratiss/earheadin) the )lobalisation of contem/orary Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi: a City in Search of anIdentity

Due to increased com/etition for in*estment and tourism re*enues, city officials all o*er theworld are harnessin) maretin) nowled)e and tools to /romote their cities as touristdestinations andor attracti*e in*estment locations.

16randin)Ba ey as/ect of maretin)Bis

now seen as a basis for a city>s economic de*elo/ment, enablin) residents and in*estors alieto identify with their city. A city>s ima)eBa reflection of what insiders and *isitors belie*e to

be true about the /laceBcan be re)arded as the startin) /lace to de*elo/ the brand.

A cor/orate or institutional brand may be defined as ;a /roduct or ser*ice made distincti*e byits /ositionin) relati*e to the com/etition and by its /ersonality which com/rises a uni9ue

1 Ka*aratCis, 4. !''%. rom city maretin) to city brandin)? -owards a theoretical framewor for

de*elo/in) city brands. lace 6randin), 1&1(? $87".

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combination of functional attributes and symbolic *alues.

A brand can therefore beconsidered as the *isual, *erbal and beha*ioural e2/ressions of an or)anisation>s uni9ue

business model. 6rands are e2/ressed throu)h a com/any or institution>s mission, core

*alues, beliefs, communication and culture. -he ey to successful brandin) is to establish arelationshi/ between the brand and the consumer while meetin) their needs.

As ;umbrellas< for a ran)e of /roducts, cor/orate and institutional brands entail a )reat dealof com/le2ity. 5ne of the main difficulties for cities in definin) their brand is that they aredealin) with multi/le audiences and staeholder )rou/s with different interests &residents,*isitors, in*estors, etc(. *erythin) a city consists of, e*erythin) that taes /lace or is allowedto ha//en in it, con*eys a messa)e. As all encounters with the city are filtered throu)h thelens of /erce/tion, it is clear that the creation and de*elo/ment of the city>s ima)e must becarefully mana)ed. 4oreo*er, the city of Abu Dhabi is also the ca/ital of the mirate as awhole. -his dual identity in*ol*es re/resentin) at the same time a lar)er re)ion includin)

semi8urban areas such as the Al Ain oasis, as well as the s/arsely /o/ulated :estern re)ion&Al 3harbia(, a E','''mF area containin) the richest oil and )as reser*es in the UA.

Abu Dhabi>s city brandin) /roect is made e*en more com/le2 by the fact that the UnitedArab mirates are in a /eriod of cultural and social ;renaissances taller buildin)s sees a city intransition. -he chan)in) sylineBnew syscra/ers blendin) with historical buildin)s, naturalman)ro*es, sandy shores and Abu Dhabi>s famous Hcorniche> or seafront boule*ardBoffers a)lim/se of a dynamic island urban Cone determined to /osition itself as an emer)in) )lobal

city.

5ne of the world>s lar)est oil /roducers, Abu Dhabi has acti*ely sou)ht to di*ersify itseconomy in recent years throu)h in*estments in financial ser*ices and tourism. -he bold*ision and ambitious urban /lans set by the leadershi/ of Abu Dhabi are increasin)ly )ainin))lobal attention. At a maor )lobal conference in A/ril !''#, rofessor Sasia Sassen, RobertS. Iynd rofessor of Sociolo)y at New Jor>s olumbia Uni*ersity and ori)inator of theterm ;)lobal citys urban /roectsL G thin what thiscity is doin) is the way to )o.s )rou/are in their twenties, and ha*e been born, raised and educated in Abu Dhabi. -hey are fer*entabout Abu Dhabi and in their desire to ;see Abu Dhabi throu)h the eyes of Sheih Mayed

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and su//orti*e leaders mother sto//ed worin) after marria)e, but Oinan saidshe intended to ee/ worin) after marria)e, /artly, she admitted, because she would be boredstayin) at home, but also because she was aware of the financial difficulties faced by someone8income families. Althou)h only two of the team members were married, family *alueswere embedded in the worin) culture, as the sin)le women all li*ed with their /arents andfre9uently shared with them their challen)es and *ictories in craftin) the future of their

mirate.

A challen)e that Reem faced = one that is increasin)ly echoed by the )o*ernment and /ress =is ee/in) the Arabic lan)ua)e ali*e. Reem saw the trend of an o*er8em/hasis on n)lishamon) her nieces and ne/hews as well as her team at wor. n)lish had become easier andmore con*enient. -o ensure 56AD maintained the Arabic lan)ua)e standards, Reemem/hasised the im/ortance of Arabic with her staff and saw si)ns of a /ossible re*ersal asmore of her friends started to thin that it was ;cool< to be mirati and s/ea Arabic. 6ut sheacnowled)ed the challen)e?

There is a clear gap with our father-s generation and with it comes the threat of

decline of the Arabic language. We all grew at such a fast pace with so manysocial changes. This came at the e'pense of many things. A lot of things were

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compromised and now it-s a challenge to bring back the language+ &ur

government is now trying to enforce the language in government communication

and education, but ! am worried it will become e'tinct+ 3ike many people, !

always thought $nglish was so vital, but now ! make an effort to read in Arabicand watch Arabic television. ! think it-s more sophisticated to speak in correct

Arabic and ! encourage my team to do the same.

)he *uture: Su%tainin" and Buildin" on EarlySucce%%

-hree years after it was founded, 56AD>s brandin) cam/ai)n was showin) si)ns of success,with consistent brand symbols and ima)es *isible across different )o*ernment de/artmentsand /roects. Althou)h 9uantitati*e research results were still lacin), the city>s )lobal

re/utation and economic /ros/erity /ro*ided e*idence that Abu Dhabi had successfully be)unto /osition itself as a )lobal destination. Simon earce, who had witnessed the /roect from itsince/tion, said?

We struck gold through hard work and rigour. The work of the office will ebb and

flow depending on the cycle of the brand. This brand will surf the wave of Abu

habi-s success4 no fears about where the brand is going, we have hit critical

mass.

:hen ased how 56AD reacted to ne)ati*e /ublicity re)ardin) human ri)hts and labourissues, Simon ar)ued that the brand had shown resilience and re/resented the beha*iour and

*alues needed to brea from ne)ati*e stereoty/es. 3i*in) e2am/les, he said?

At the first 5ormula 6 $tihad Airways Abu habi 7rand 8ri', the marshals will

be living in the standard labour housing. 5ederal laws are being put in place and

we are going to where we want to be. We will transition out of the past. 9These

new: behaviours are being demonstrated+ we happen to be doing something

about it.

As the ormula 1 e*ent descended on Abu Dhabi in No*ember !''#, ne)ati*e ima)es of AbuDhabi disa//eared and the e*ent was hailed as an ;incom/arable e2/eriences /remier motors/ort locations. -he )lamorous Jas Gsland

*enue showcased inno*ation, creati*ity and state8of8the8art technolo)y, un*eilin) the onlycircuit in the world where a $8star hotel is inte)rated within the trac and with e*ery sin)le)randstand seat under co*er, all ;/art of the strate)y to /ut /eo/le first

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where G come from. G /ut my foot down when G felt it was necessary and always chose to )owith the *alues ofT my culture.< She still or)anises her wor schedule to accommodatee*enin) curfews set by her /arents, and res/ects their wish that she not tra*el unaccom/anied.

Des/ite her wor and tra*el commitments, family *alues still come first.

4eanwhile, althou)h s/ouses and children are considered a source of fulfilment and a/riority, Reem and her team try to lead their li*es as a continuum brid)in) the wor8familydi*ide. ontrary to traditional western stereoty/es of Arab women waitin) for husbands athome, these inde/endent youn) Arab women are findin) /ersonal fulfilment in their

/rofessional li*es, sa*ourin) the challen)e of wor, althou)h one can>t hel/ but wonderwhether they will sustain or )i*e u/ their /assion once they start families of their own.

As is ty/ical for 3eneration J, Reem is also considerin) startin) her own business one day, adream shared by many of her female com/atriots. or the immediate future, howe*er, she

intends to remain focused on de*elo/in) the /otential and sills of youn) local leaders.:hate*er the future holds, Reem intends to continue to )i*e bac to Abu Dhabi.

So far, the balance of modern and traditional seemed to be worin). -he success and )rowthof 56AD, as Reem tells /eo/le, ;was not at the e2/ense of who we are and where we comefromL that>s always been my mottos hands.s resident /o/ulation.6etween 1#7$ and !''E, it is re/orted to ha*e )rown from a//ro2imately !1!,''' to o*er 1.% million

/eo/le. -he /o/ulation of the UA as a whole is estimated to ha*e )rown from a//ro2imately

$$,''' /eo/le in 1#7$ to %.! million by !''E.1E

B Demo"ra(hicchallen"e%

:hile many re)ional multi8national com/anies ha*e entered this flourishin) maret, the number ofe2/atriate worers &both silled and unsilled( has increased dramatically, creatin) a trulymulticultural society, with around !'' nationalities re/resented.

6y !''#, the /o/ulation of the UA had reached si2 million, with South Asians re/resentin) themaority of the /o/ulation, and Gndians the lar)est community at 1.7$ million, followed by aistanis&1.!$ million( and 6an)ladeshis &$'','''(. :estern e2/atriates, mainly from uro/e, North America,Australia, Africa, North Africa and Iatin America re/ortedly mae u/ $'',''' of the o*erall

/o/ulation. A drawbac of this fast de*elo/ment is the mar)inaliCation of the local miratis, whocurrently re/resent only 17 of the total /o/ulation of the UA.

17

-he fast de*elo/in) mirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi ha*e seen the )reatest influ2 of mi)rant labour.:hile the demo)ra/hic com/osition and associated challen)es may be sli)htly different for each ofthe se*en emirates, the national a*era)e /resents an ade9uate )uide to Abu Dhabi>s demo)ra/hics.

urrently less than ! of mirati nationals &both male and female( are em/loyed in the /ri*ate sector,while )o*ernment offices, the /olice and armed forces attract most mirati worers. -he banin)industry is a notable e2ce/tion as bans are held to a 9uota system based on an increasin) /ercenta)eof miratis each year &" in !''#(. 5ther /ri*ate sector or)anisations need to em/loy ! of localnationals in their worforce. 0owe*er, des/ite fees and *isa restrictions on e2/atriate em/loyees,many multi8nationals do not em/loy any miratis.

1$ 6ahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of 5man, Kuwait, Watar, and the United Arab mirates

1E h tt / ?www.ec o n o my .aeAra b icco no m ic An dS tatisticRe / o rtsStatisti c Re / o rtsD o cume n ts

Statistic!'Re/ortsUA!'in!'NumbersUA!'i)ures!''7./df

17 :ith limited data a*ailable from national statistical re/ortin) and confusion about the /o/ulation se)ments

it co*ers, secondary data needs to be e*aluated with care.

http://www.economy.ae/Arabic/EconomicAndStatisticReports/StatisticReports/Documents/http://www.economy.ae/Arabic/EconomicAndStatisticReports/StatisticReports/Documents/http://www.economy.ae/Arabic/EconomicAndStatisticReports/StatisticReports/Documents/

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Gn the UA in )eneral, and Abu Dhabi in /articular, business /ractices are influenced not only by thelocal culture but to a lar)e e2tent by the cultures of the e2/atriate labour force. -he mirati worconte2t ta.esinto account reli)ious /ractices, with a*ailability of /rayer rooms and the o//ortunity to

tae breas at /rayer times. 6usiness hours may be shortened for reli)ious obser*ance durin)Ramadan. -raditions and the 4uslim faith may influence cross8)ender interaction at wor. Althou)h)ender se)re)ation is not /racticed at wor, strictly reli)ious men and women may /refer to limitinteraction with the other )ender and interact only in formal ways. articularly im/ortant to note foroutsiders is that *ery traditional men and women may not shae hands.

C Role of/omen

Gt has been ar)ued that the maor fault line in the di*er)ence of *iews between the 4iddle ast and the:est is based on the status of women. Gn :estern eyes, 4iddle astern women are often re)arded aso//ressed and *ictimiCed. -hus it is im/ortant to address the status of women in the 4iddle ast.

:ith female labour increasin)ly considered to be a si)nificant factor in the economic )rowth of there)ion, 4iddle astern countries and /articularly the more /ros/erous 3ulf countries ha*e /laced astron) em/hasis on women>s education and human ca/ital buildin). -he : 3ender 3a/ Re/ortindicates that with res/ect toeducational attainment the 3 countries are /articularly well raned,e*en sur/assin) countries such as the US and SwitCerland. 0owe*er, with res/ect to economic

/artici/ation and o//ortunity, women in 4iddle astern countries consistently la) behind. -hus, itwould a//ear that their hi)h educational achie*ements are not reflected in the wor s/here. Gndeed,many countries in the re)ion still fall short in female ca/acity utiliCation. Althou)h female

/artici/ation in the worforce has increased o*er the /ast years, it is unclear whether the actual role ofwomen in business has e*ol*ed, thus castin) doubt o*er effecti*e ca/acity usa)e and the de*elo/ment

of leadershi/ /otential.1

As a /ioneer, the late Sheih Mayed, father of the nation, was lauded for )i*in) stron) su//ort to

women>s ad*ancement, althou)h he encoura)ed women /redominantly to tae u/ roles ;suitable totheir natures Association, noted that ;:e are /roud about the achie*ements ofthe UA woman in line with the /lans and /olitical em/owerment outlined by resident 0is 0i)hnessSheih Khalifa bin Mayed Al Nahayan. -he UA woman today /artici/ates in the three so*erei)ninstitutions? e2ecuti*e, le)islati*e and udiciary. -he women>s re/resentation in the abinet rose in!'' from two seats to four = one of the bi))est re/resentations in the Arab world. 01/2010-5671

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